Finally finished restoring my Nishijin Derby

[mxfaiman]

This whole restoration started about a month and a half ago. This machine started out with rough chrome and was very dirty; there were no missing parts or broken ones. I kinda forgot to take pictures before I started tearing it apart. But I have two that will give you an idea of what it looked like.

derby machine + marion pinewood derby 001.jpgderby machine + marion pinewood derby 003.jpg

The first photo is of the front before we had done anything to it. The second one is of the back once we had taken some of the parts off.
Now here are the pictures of what it looks like after we have restored it.

derby machine 007.jpgphones, ball trays, derby lights 035.jpgphones, ball trays, derby lights 027.jpgderby machine 001.jpg

We went through and took everything off the machine and cleaned it. We first used superclean (found at Wal-Mart and auto parts stores) to start the cleaning process then we moved them all to a sink full of simple green an water. This took all of the dust and smoke off the parts. (Want to read more on how we did this go here post #3 http://www.pachitalk.com/forums/vintage-pachinko/38805-found-old-mizuho-boat-race-machine.html) After cleaning all the parts we went and reassembled the whole machine and sent the bad chrome out to be re-chromed. We also did some additional touches and added some lights.

If you want to see some pictures of the machine during our restoration go here https://sites.google.com/site/pachinkosite/restoration/derby-nisinjin-b

[Microbus99]

Looks Great!!!

Welcome to the world of Pachinko restoring and reviving another neglected machine!!

You say "we" and "our" alot in your post. Sounds like a family affair or great bonding moment! Thats the best type of hobby, the one you share with others!

Looking forward to more finished finds!

[Moparformances]

very nice looking machine..

if ya dont mind telling what did ya pay for having the chrome redone??

[mxfaiman]

The chrome was outrageously over priced we ended up paying over $200 for it. Then later we learned that he just polishes it at his location and sends it out to other guys to plate it. Now were looking for a new guy who does the plating and polishing and the same quality work but for less. If anyone knows a guy close to Irvine that is reasonably price and does good work please send me a PM.

[Rival]

Here in Indianapolis I found a guy who is plating the chrome on my Marudai frame for $175.00, but he won't have it back to me for 6 weeks due to his backlog. But keep in mind, this is the frame only, it is a single shot so does not have the typical front chrome feeder tray panel that often rusts out on 70's Nishijins.

[ShopratFab]

Microbus99, You hit it, It's turned into a fun hobby for us. I let Max handle the photos & he put together the web site. The old man handles the wiring & polishing, & showing him things to do, etc.

One item on this machine is we re-veneered the front with Beechwood, and if you look all the grain is going the same direction now. Really gives it a sleek appearance. And I added an LED in the shooter area triggered to the payout switch. Gives a nice flash from there. (Or it could be switched to the ball out circuit) And added extra LED's to the side lenses, as they look great lighted.

Rival, hearing what you are finding for pricing on the chrome around Indy doesn't make the $230.00 we paid seem too bad, just brings up that the condition of the chrome is now a key factor when looking at a machine to restore. (And our guy took just as long to do the work) Chroming in general has now become expensive. I'm think about one of the Caswell kits since for about the same price as my one frame I could do several along with some car parts I need to do. Might start a new thread on that topic to see who has tried it.

[Rival]

Yeah, from now forward I will consider machines with rusted frames that will not clean up as simply junk parts machines, unless it is an older rare model. It makes little sense to have a frame rechromed and do a complete restore when you can buy a very clean machine for the cost of the rechrome alone.

I bit the bullet on the frame for the Muradai New prince because it is a fairly rare older machine.

[Microbus99]

Microbus99, You hit it, It's turned into a fun hobby for us. I let Max handle the photos & he put together the web site. The old man handles the wiring & polishing, & showing him things to do, etc.

Thats great!! You both have done great work!! Keep it up! Oh and dont sell yourself short "old man".